Could Walking, Jogging, and Running be the
Best Stomach Flattening Exercises?

Walking and Running are some of the best stomach flattening exercises, and this page will explain why.

All over this site, I explain that spot reduction is the #1 Ab Exercise Myth. Unfortunately, there are no magic stomach exercises that by themselves get rid of stomach fat.

If your goal is to flatten your stomach, then you need to burn calories and decrease your body fat. Walking, jogging, and running are great ways to burn calories and lose fat.

Fastest Way to Burn Calories

The fastest way to burn calories is to exercise your leg muscles. With any exercise the more muscle mass you use the more calories you will burn. For example, wrist exercises will burn fewer calories than arm exercises. And arm exercises will generally burn fewer calories than leg exercises.

Running is one of the fastest ways to burn calories, but if you have bad knees or don't like running walking can also help you to get a flat stomach.

Why Most Athletes have Flat Stomachs

So often we see athletes in magazines and wonder what's their secret to getting a flat stomach. Trust me athletes don't do any secret stomach flattening exercises!

The reason athletes have flat stomachs is that they run all the time. Think about all the sports that involve running. I bet you've never seen a fat marathon runner, track athlete, soccer player, or tennis star.

If you're trying to get in shape and lose weight any sport that involves running can really help you to make significant fitness gains.

How to Burn 1 Pound of Fat

It is generally accepted that you must burn 3500 fat calories in order to lose one pound of fat. And it is also generally accepted that a 150 pound person burns about 100 calories for every mile traveled by foot.

These numbers mean that you have to walk or run about 35 miles to burn one pound of fat. Note: These numbers are just estimates. The body does not work arithmetically. Biochemistry does not always work as 1 + 1 =2

I'm Sorry to say that there is no way around putting in the work. But, before you get discouraged, let's break down these numbers.

Many nutritionists and weight loss consultants say to try to create a 500 calorie deficit every day (7 days) in order to lose 1 pound a week (3500 calories).

If you walked 5 miles a day that would be around 500 calories and would take about 75-90 minutes. If you jogged at 5 miles an hour (12 minute mile pace), you would burn about 500 calories in 60 minutes. And if you ran 6 minute mile pace, you could burn around 500 calories in 30 minutes.

Since they burn a ton of calories, walking, jogging, and running the best stomach flattening exercises and abdominal flattening exercises.

Burning Calories with Stomach Exercises like Sit Ups

In my best estimation sit ups probably burn about 3-5 calories a minute (after all jogging at 6.0 mph is about 10 calories a minute). Remember the more muscle mass an exercise uses the more calories it will burn.

For this example, let's go crazy and say that sit ups can burn 10 calories per minute. And let's just say that you must do 50 sit ups in a minute to burn 10 calories.

These numbers would mean that you would have to do 350 minutes of sit ups to burn 3500 calories, and 350 minutes times 50 sit ups per minute equals 17,500 sit ups a week or 2500 a day. Yikes!!!

And that's with me kindly over-estimating the caloric expenditure of sit ups. In truth, you would likely have to do 2-3 times as many sit ups, which is somewhere between 35,000 and 50,000 sit ups. I bet going for a few long walks or 5 mile jogs is much more appealing than doing 5000 sit ups a day.

Trying to burn calories by only doing stomach exercises, just isn't an efficient or smart use of your workout time. Stomach exercises are not the best stomach flattening exercises!

Summary

Even though there are no magic stomach flattening exercises or abdominal flattening exercises, exercising your stomach muscles is still important for your health.

If you want a flat stomach, you should take a comprehensive approach to fitness. If you're looking for more direction and a structured workout program, consider my ebook Personal Training Secrets to Lose Belly Fat and Get a Flat Stomach.

Or visit the Directory of Abdominal Exercises to learn all the ab and stomach exercises on this site.

I hope this article give you a better perspective about how to get a flat stomach.

Yours in Health,
Dr. Charles PT/PT

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Women's Fitness and Weight Loss Program:
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If you want to lose weight and get a flat stomach, my ebook Personal Training Secrets to Lose Belly Fat and Get a Flat Stomach is the answer to your prayers.

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